UK Spied On 'World Of Warcraft' In Anti-Terrorism Fight

UK Spied On 'Warcraft'
|

UK surveillance agencies spied on communities inside games including 'World Of Warcraft' in an effort to keep tabs on potential terrorist cells.

Agents working with GCHQ in the UK and the NSA in the United States worked to try and find potential threats inside the games, based on fears that their chat functions were being used to circumvent wider surveillance online.

But it was also thought that some games could be used to virtually train potential terrorists in the use of weapons. It was also reported that so many agents were spying "in-game" that a "deconfliction" team was employed, to make sure spies weren't actually just watching each other.

The news was first reported by the New York Times, the Guardian and ProPublica using information leaked by former NSA worker Edward Snowden, who is now in Russia.

Blizzard, who make 'World of Warcraft', said in a statement that any surveillance was "done without our knowledge or permission". Other networks targeted included Xbox Live, the Guardian said.

How To Avoid Surveillance
Fingerprint Gel(01 of09)
Open Image Modal
The Japanese government counter-terrorism practice of fingerprinting foreigners who enter the country may have inspired Doctor Tsutomu Matsumoto to invent "fingerprinting gels", a way of faking fingerprints for scanners.Learn how to make your own here. (credit:AP)
White Noise Generator(02 of09)
Open Image Modal
Worried someone around you is secretly recording everything you do? No fear! There's a relatively low-tech way to defeat such snoops, via white-noise-producing audio jammers. These tiny devices use white noise to blur the sound picked up by hidden microphones and other surreptitious recording devices. (credit:Flickr: Anonymous9000)
LED-Lined Hat(03 of09)
Open Image Modal
Hidden cameras got you down? Blind them all with a simple baseball cap lined with infrared LEDs. Amie, a hacker on WonderHowTo, shows the world how to make one, while this German art exhibition lays out how these ingenious devices work. (credit:AP)
Bug Detector(04 of09)
Open Image Modal
These receivers reveal the telltale electronic crackle of hidden mics and cameras. Strangely enough, they were around long before "surveillance culture" became a common phrase. Today they're sold in all sorts of shops for surveillance paranoids. (credit:Gadget Playground)
Camera Map(05 of09)
Open Image Modal
Sometimes hiding your face isn't enough; sometimes you don't want to be seen at all. For those days, there's camera maps. The NYC Surveillance Camera Project in the US is currently working to document the location of and working status of every security camera in New York City. A similar project is also in progress in the UK. (credit:AP)
Dazzle Camouflage(06 of09)
Open Image Modal
Credit to artist Adam Harvey for this one. Inspired by the "dazzle camouflage" used on submarines and warships during World War I, he designed a series of face paint principles meant to fool the facial recognition schemas of security cameras. Check out The Perilous Glamour of Life Under Surveillance for some tips on designing your own camera-fooling face paint. (credit:Adam Harvey)
Throwaway Phones(07 of09)
Open Image Modal
Disposable mobile phones are more expensive than you think, but they don't require personal information when you sign up. (credit:AP)
RFID-Blocking Wallet(08 of09)
Open Image Modal
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chips are now regularly implanted in passports, ID cards, credit cards and travel papers. These tiny chips make machine-reading your documents easier -- but could also let anyone with the right type of scanner scrape your information and track your whereabouts. Luckily, gadget geeks have come to the rescue again, this time with RFID-blocking wallets. These wallets create a Faraday cage around your items, keeping their data secure until you take them out to be scanned where they're supposed to be scanned. Destroying the chip is simpler: just nuke it in the microwave for five seconds. Of course, whatever you're microwaving might burst into flames first... (credit:AP)
Use Skype(09 of09)
Open Image Modal
The progress of the government's so-called 'Snooper's Charter' is currently stalled in Parliament, but using Skype may be a way to avoid officials tracking your phone calls. Tech Week Europe suggests that Skype users have less cause to be worried about their data being intercepted. The reasons are pretty technical, and any system is fallible, but it may be worth looking into. (credit:PA)